Dust mop cleaner



3, 1955 J. FALLEK 3,197,794

DUST MOP CLEANER Filed July 22, 1963 .-i I l 1 HM; l

o INVENTOR:

34 33 JOSEPH FALLEK United States Patent 3,197,794 DUST MOP CLEANER Joseph Fallek, 1990 Bay Drive, Miami Beach, Fla. Filed July 22, 1963, Ser. No. 296,544 1 Claim. (Cl. 15142) This invention relates in general to dust mops and cleaners therefor wherein it is possible to dislodge dust from the mop head by rotating it within a container, thus obviating the necessity of shaking the mop head into the atmosphere and overcoming the attendant disadvantages of doing so. 7

There have been numerous attempts heretofore to design dust mop cleaners and dust mop handles to cooperate therewith but most of them have been complicated and expensive ;to market on-a commercial scale or have been unsatisfactory in operation. The present invention is designed to overcome the disadvantages of similar constructions of the prior art and therefore has as its principal object to provide a dust mop cleaner whereby dust may easily and quickly be dislodged from the mop head and deposited into a container therefor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of dust mop cleaner adapted to receive the mop head whereby rotation of the mop handle will cause dust to be dislodged from the mop head.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a dust mop made to be used with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container forming a part of the invention and within which the mop head is placed for cleaning; FIG; 3 is a perspective view illustrating the dust mop and cleaner in association with eachother andgn position for rotation of the handle causing dislodgment of the dust, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the dust mop handle showing a modified form of construction for rotating the mop handle.

Briefly described, the "invention may be'said to include a container having a plurality of impact members extending inwardly'from the inner surface of the container and against which the strands of the mop head may strike when caused to do so by rotation of the mop handle. The dust mop is placed in position within the container and is adapted to be supported in its proper position by means of an annular flange on the handle adapted to rest upon the closed sectional covers of the container. Means are also provided on the mop handle which may be grasped and manually operated to rotate or oscillate the handle which in turn causes the strands of the mop head to strike the impact members and dislodge dust therefrom. 2

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it will be noted that in FIGS. 1 and 3 the dust mop consists of an elongated handle 1 provided at its lower end with the mop head 2 consisting of a plurality of strands of material suitable for causing dust particles to adhere thereto. Spaced upwardly a short distance from the lower end of the handle 1 is an annular flange 3 which cooperates with the container, to be described hereinafter, and supports the mop during the cleaning operation thereof.

The upper end of the handle 1 is preferably provided with a sleeve member 4 within which the handle 1 is received. The sleeve 4 is secured by any suitable means, such as a screw 5, to the upper end of the handle 1 in such a manner as to enable relative rotation between the handle 1 and sleeve 4. Thus, when the handle is ro-. tated or oscillated during the cleaning operation, the sleeve 4 may be grasped by one hand to hold the mop handle while it is being rotated.

Suitable means are provided which may be manually operated for rotating the mop handle. For example, in FIGS. 1 and 3 this means constitutesa member 6 pivotally mounted at 7 on a ring 8. The member 6 may be moved alongside the handle 1 to an inoperative position or to an operative position extending outwardly from the handle 1 so that it may be grasped and used to oscillate the mop handle back and forth. When the sleeve 4 is grasped by one hand of the operator and the member 6 is grasped by the other hand, the handle 1 may be oscillated back and forth in a rotary motion. The mop cleaner comprises a container generally indicated by the numeral 9. The configuration of this container is of no great importance except insofar as it is to be suitably formed to carry out the function of cleaning the mop head by dislodging the dust therefrom, as hereinafter more particularly described.

In the preferred embodiment of the cleaner 9 it is formed of a circular wall 10 having cover means generally indicated by the numeral 11. This cover means includes a pair of plate members 12 and 13 mounted for movement at the top of the container toward each other to a closed position and away from each other to an open position.

In the particular embodiment shown, these plate members 12 and 13 are hingedly mounted so that they may be moved to the open position shown in FIG. 2 or to the closed position shown in FIG.- 3; Plate. member 12 has hinges 14 and 15 while plate member 13 is provided with hinges 16 and 17. e

The sectional cover means consisting of the plate members 12 and 13 may be caused to move to open and closed positions by any suitable means, either by hand or by mechanical means as shown in FIGS. 2 and .3. In. these figures fplate member 12 has a chain 18 connected thereto at one end. The other end of chain 18 extends downwardly through a tubular member 19 secured by suitable means to the outside of the container and extending in a vertical direction or axially of the container. The other end of the chain18 is connected to the upper end of the vertically extending portions 20 of a rod 21. The other portions 22. of the rod is positioned in a horizontal plane and is curved to conform to the curvature of the container. The opposite endthereof is connected to one side of a treadle member 23.

The plate member 13 likewise has a similar chain 24 connected at one end thereto and-at its other end to the vertically-extending portion 25 of a rod .26 which is adapted to slide within a tubular. member 27 .mounted axiallyat the opposite side of the container from the tubular member 19. The lower end of rod 26 is curved to conform to the curvature of the containeras shown at 28 and is secured at its end to the treadle 23.

At this point it will be evident that downward pressure of the treadle 23 will cause a downward movement of the rods 21 and 26 so that the portion-s 20 and 25 thereof will slide downwardly within the tubular members 19 and 27. When this occurs, the connecting links or chain members 18 and 24 will exert a pull on the plate numbers 12 and 13 and move them to the open position thereof shown in FIG. 2.

The plates 12 and 13 are provided with recesses 29 and 30, respectively, in the edges thereof which are adjacent each other or in abuttting relation when in closed position. When these plates are closed, the recesses. 29 and 30 together will form an opening through which the mop handle 1 may extend when the head 2 thereof is positioned within the container.

The inner Wall of the container is provided with a plurality of impact members 31 which may take any suitable form but for purposes of illustration these members have been shown as arcuate members extending axially of the container.

When the cover plates 12 and 13 are open, the mop may be inserted therein so as to dispose the mop head 2 in the area of the impact members 31. The plate'members 12 and 13 are then returned to their closed position by releasing the pressure on treadle 23 so that the mop handle 1 may be lowered to the position where the flange 3 on the handle will rest upon the closed cover means. The sleeve 4 is then grapsed by one hand and the member 6 is graspedby the other, and a rotary motion imparted. to the handle 1. This will result in the strands of the mop head being thrown outwardly and causing them to strike the impact members 31 thereby dislodging the dust thereon and depositing such dust particles in the bottom of the container. If desired, the assembly of dust mop and container as shown in FIG. 3 may be allowed to remain in the illustrated position for storage purposes.

. Suitable means may be provided for emptying the dust from the container. In the present instance, an opening is provided in the wall of the container and the opposed vertically extending edges of the opening are bent outwardly, as at 32 and 33, thereby to provide a pair of slideways for the door or closure 34. This closure may have a handle 35 thereon which may be grasped to move the closure 34 in a sliding movement upwardly to open the door and allow the dust and contents of the container to be emptied. Suitable stop means are provided to limit the downward movement of the closure 34, such as the outwardly extending ears 36 and 37, which abut against the upper ends of the slideways 32 and 33 when, the closure 34 is in closed position.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified form of construction insofar as the manner in which the handle is rotated is concerned. Inthis instance the handle of the dust mop is indicated by the numeral 1a. It will have the same mop head 2 and supporting flange 3 as those hereinabove described In this form of the device the handle is also provided with the sleeve 4 rotatably secured to the upper end of the handle by the screw means 5.

In this modified form, however, a section of the handle 1:: is externally threaded as shown at 38, An internally threaded sleeve 39 has the threads thereof engaging the threads 38 so that a reciprocating movement of the sleeve 39 longitudinally of the handle 1a will cause the handle to oscillate in a rotary movement. The internally threaded sleeve 39 is limited in its upward movement by the lower end of sleeve 4 and is limited in its downward movement by the annular flange 40 located on the handle 1a at the lower end of the threaded section 38 When this form of the device is used, it is positioned in the container as shown in FIG. 3 except that in this instance one hand of the operator may grasp the sleeve 4 while the other will grasp the internally threaded sleeve 39 and move it up and down lengthwise of the handle 1a. This will impart to the handle and to the mop head 2 a rotary oscillating movement thereby to obtain the same results as described above.

From the foregoing description it will be evident that I have provided a novel and useful form of dust mop cleaner which is simple to operate and overcomes many of the disadvantages of those heretofore known.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of parts from those disclosed herein without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages thereof, provided, however, that such changes fall within the scope of the claim appended hereto.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

A dust mop cleaner comprising,

(a) a container adapted to receive therein a mop head with the mop handle extending outwardly therefrom,

(b) a plurality of impact members extending inwardly from the inner surface of said container and adapted to be struck by the strands of the mop head when the mop handle is rotated, thereby to dislodge dust therefrom,

(c) sectional cover means for closing the upper end of said container, including (1) a pair of hingedly mounted plate members disposed in abutting relation when in closed position and movable away from each other to open position, and

(2) opposed recesses in the abutting edges of said plate members to provide an opening through which the mop handle may extend when said plate members are in closed position,

(d) an opening in the side of said container through which dislodged dust may pass when emptying said container,

(e) movable closure means for said opening in the side of said container, and

(f) treadle means on the side of said container connected to said sectional cover means and operable when depressed to move said cover means to open position,

(g) the means connecting said treadle means with said plate members including (1) vertically slidable rods at opposite sides of said container,

(2) means connecting the upper end of each rod to the adjacent plate member, and

(3) means connected the lower end of each rod with said treadle member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,426,440 8/22 Zieschang 15-119 1,614,968 1/27 Rado et al. 1,803,339 5/31 McConnell 15-89 1,818,948 8/31 Hamblen 15-147.5 1,868,305 7/32 Craven 15--246 X 2,526,485 10/50 Kortick. 2,941,227 6/60 Simeti et al. 15147.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 165,456 1/ 34 Switzerland. 315,280 9/56 Switzerland.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. 

